For the Pros that See Many Different Wheel

[chefwong]

As winter winds to an end and I await the delivery of the summer shoes....it got me thinking or wondering

As I was asking my wheel manuf. after X process is done, is it baked twice and the clear on it will be powdered, or will it be sprayed, etc.
I know the masses on the above question is not a normal thing....kinda.

I see many *new/recent/last 3/4 year old car* wheels of various makes, etc.
Road rash aside, you often may see the clear coat finish is stained/diminished.

If one looks at some of these *recent new car wheels (aka, 2020-2022)*, even though the wheels are curb free, or see they have been cleaned recently, often the face of the wheel spoke +outer edge/rim, etc - will either be etched cloudy or have a cloudy or blackish streaking stain below or above the clear coat...

Is it

- due to crappy paint these days and clear is just not as good
- owners not washing their car and brake dust eats away until it get's washed *by the service dept, ot the car get's it's 1st wash in 6 months*
- touchless/car washes with fairly strong cleaners

Or its' simply bullet #1, clear sucks these days, and the other bullets amplify it ?

Akin to the crappy paint these days, paint chips easily. Same analogy I suppose eh

[briarpatch]

I think it's more likely your second bullet...although it could be a combination of the first two. I work at a place where there are quite a few nice, and neglected, cars in the parking lot on a daily basis...and wheels with heavy brake dust buildup is the most common thing I see.

[chefwong]

Indeed. I see many decent cars with heavy dust.

The OP about the CC is the damage is done. It's not like the haze or -black embedded stain- can be polished out.
It needs a -repair-

Anyhow. I kinda think part of it is also due to our new water based spraying.....
Seems like I see alot more of this type of stainging than yester-years

[oneheadlite]

I would bet it's a combination of modern brake pad compounds paired with how the wheels are cleaned / "maintained".

Most cars are just having super harsh chemicals sprayed on to get the wheels as clean as they can with as low effort as possible (if/when they get cleaned), either at the dealership with the lot jockeys spraying wheel acid on them, or the drive-through tunnel hitting them with whatever they use.

Then your now-heavily-stripped wheel just goes back out into the wild to accumulate more of the wicked brake dust with nary an ounce of protection to cut down on how firmly the dust bonds to the surface.

Lather, rinse, repeat = perma brown wheels. That likely can be saved, but take more effort than the majority of appliance drivers care to have put into it.